Misconceptions
by her0girl
Summary: What happens when events from a hot summer night can't be taken back? How does it affect our favorite detectives?
1. Chapter 1

**Special Victims Unit**

**October 9, 3:32 a.m**

Detective Benson looked at the paperwork, re-reading the file for the forth time. Her thoughts ran at each other at impossible speeds, making it hard to think about just one thing for any single second. She checked the time and realized that she'd stayed at the office all night, so she put the file away in her desk, and figured she would just have to wait until Elliot, Fin, and Munch got there in a few hours for her to go over the report and catch the serial rapist. She left the office and drove back to her apartment to get some rest before tackling the case in the morning.

She went inside and locked the door, left to ponder her thoughts. She thought back on the case and tried to remember anything she could've missed, but gave up, and fell asleep on her couch.

* * *

><p><strong>Home of Olivia Benson<strong>

**October 9, 7:34 a.m**

The next day she was up early, in the bathroom, puking. "Ah crap." She flushed the toilet and brushed her teeth. "The flu's been going around, I must have it." But she knew that she couldn't let the pedophile that she'd been working on with Stabler just run off; no, she had to go in and take care of that guy, and put him behind bars. She stopped by a café and picked up two coffees, one for her partner and one for herself, and then headed to the precinct.

Olivia walked in and put the coffee on Stabler's desk. Elliot walked over and smiled at her. "Morning, El. How's the case?" She sipped the coffee and it filled her empty stomach with warmth, and made her aches go away so that they weren't even really there.

"We got an anonymous tip, about ten minutes ago. It says that they think the guy in the newspaper goes to the coffee shop on 81st and Madison every morning at 10. It sounds like OCD; like our killer." Elliot put his coat on to protect from the chilly October weather. He checked his watch. "If we take the subway we should be able to get there a few minutes before ten. Come on, Liv." He took the coffee off his desk and Liv ran off behind him as they went underground to get to the subway.

* * *

><p><strong>Corner of 81st and Madison<strong>

**October 9, 9:47 a.m**

The subway jostled them around and Olivia gripped the cup, trying to still her nearly empty stomach. "You okay?" Elliot looked over at her. She was pale, like a ghost. And her entire face looked like she was trying not to be sick. "Did you even sleep last night?"

"Like a princess." She looked over at him and the subway stopped again to pick up more people. "Do I really look that bad?"

"Not really. I just know you, Liv. Do you have the flu?"

"Yeah, but it's mild. I'll be fine."

"You sure you don't ant to-"

"I'm fine, El. Don't worry about me, worry about the guy we're about to catch. The next stop is his." She finished her coffee, and got off at the stop with Elliot close behind, and she threw out the cup. She quickly checked her watch. "C'mon, we only have three minutes to go and we need to run two blocks to get there."

Elliot ran behind her as they went up the stairs pushing through people and they pushed through the crowds to get to the supposed killer's café. Olivia stopped in front of the place and looked around, breathing quickly and trying to catch her breath. It was 10. "El, there isn't a café here. No one's here." The two detectives desperately looked around for anyone who could be there that was suspicious, but no one was there. "Elliot, look." There was a flash of pink in an alley behind a trashcan and Olivia cautiously moved down the alley, Elliot following behind, looking for any sign of their guy.

"He's not here." Elliot lowered his gun and put it back in the holster on his belt.

"Oh my god. Elliot, look." Olivia stood over the body of another girl, bludgeoned to death. She brought her hand to her mouth to keep from vomiting. The girl was posed, like the others, probably no more than 10, with a receipt for a book café in her hand.

"He's evolving. This is the second one who he's killed." Elliot looked over at his partner who was just staring at the body. "Olivia we'll find the bastard, don't worry. This is just a minor setback."

"Minor setback my ass. I'll get our guys to come and see if they can find anything that can give us a hint, but our guy… he doesn't leave evidence." She walked out of the alley and called Cragen, leaving Elliot to wonder why his partner was more sensitive.

* * *

><p><strong>Autopsy Room<strong>

**October 9, 5:20 p.m**

"Melinda called. She wants us downstairs for the autopsy, says she might have something important." Elliot tapped Olivia's shoulder as she flipped through paperwork. She looked up at him and nodded.

"Yeah, alright. Did she say what it was?"

"No, just that we should be down there pronto."

Olivia nodded as they headed downstairs in the elevator to the ME's room. She greeted them at the door. "I found DNA, and I don't think it belongs to Janie Doe. It was on her skirt, and the blood pattern suggests that whoever killed her could've nicked themself in the process of hurting her, which brings me to my next topic. The bludgeoning isn't what killed her. It's a post mortem injury, but one that happened right after her death, in fact, some of it a short while before. The real damage is from her artery in the crook of her elbow. It got cut inside of her arm, probably when the killer grabbed her arm, it snapped. I believe Janie Doe's death was accidental from our killer, and he tried to make it seem routine."

"So her death was all a mistake of him not being gentle enough?" Elliot looked at the x-rays on the wall.

"Sadly, yes. It's possible she could've survived if it hadn't been for the accident that threw this guy off track."

Olivia nodded and looked at Melinda. "Did you find anything else?"

"No, nothing important. I can check to see if she was drugged like all the other girls too, but I have to wait for the tox screen."

"Okay, thanks. We might be able to use this to trace whoever it is who killed her, and maybe if he's our rapist."

"Maybe." Olivia had doubt in her voice, as if she knew this still wasn't enough. She walked back to the elevator with Elliot and he pressed the button to get to their floor.

"What was that, back at the crime scene? You're never like that, Liv." He looked over at her and she cast her eyes down. "Are you sure this is just minor? Maybe you should get checked out."

"Elliot, please." She looked back at him, into his clear blue eyes. "Stop worrying about me. I'm fine. It'll pass."

He sighed and nodded. "Are you sure?"

"Elliot, drop it."

He gave a small smile, and his eyes were playful for a second, like a mischievous little kid. "Okay, okay. Consider it dropped."

"Thank you." She said, a slightly annoyed tone coming out with the words. "Now let's go. I want to catch this son of a bitch. We almost had him, and I'm not letting him slip away again." The elevator bell rung, and the doors opened back to the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Special Victims Unit**

**October 10, 9:00 a.m**

Elliot closed the phone he'd been on. "Quick, Liv, flip to channel 4. Our killer left a surprise. It was right outside of the Ledger's headquarters." Olivia grabbed the remote for the TV and flipped it to the channel.

_ The new serial killer, called the Renaissance Killer, has left a note for the NYPD outside of the Ledger's Headquarters. It was written on a piece of printer paper in cursive, and taped onto the door._

Olivia paused it so they could read the letter without the woman's voice reading for them. She scanned over it, and then read it aloud. "To my friends at the NYPD, the body that you recently found was not one of mine, it is simply an admirer of my work. The sculpt that my admirer made is not one that I would do, as it is contemporary. Have fun finding whoever did this one. Yours, The Renaissance Killer." She turned the TV off.

"That doesn't make sense, why would he tell us that it's a copycat? Wouldn't it help him not to tell us anything, have us chasing our tails?" Elliot questioned.

Dr. Huang came up from behind them, his hands in his pants pockets. "He thinks of himself as doing a favor for his friends. This is a game for him. This last kill was sloppy to him, and he doesn't want someone else getting the recognition for all of his kills, which are neater and more his style. He wants all of the glory for himself."

"So all he wants is the attention?" Olivia turned towards Huang.

"Yes, it's a classic sociopathic-narcissist. He has a feeling of being superior to this other person, this copycat. He wants the world to see his 'art' and how he's better."

"And if this is a copycat, he could've left DNA behind, or fingerprints. We could have something after all. He's probably new to this, sloppy, like you said." Elliot thought back to the body.

"Yes, that's likely. I would see if they've uncovered anything in the lab." George watched the two detectives go back downstairs, before heading back off to his office.

* * *

><p><strong>Crime Scene Examination Lab<strong>

**October 10, 9:37 a.m**

Elliot walked through the door into the lab, where Ryan was looking over a few fibers underneath a microscope. "Hey, Ryan. Got anything for us?"

Ryan spun around to look at Elliot, and flashed him a grin. "Thankfully, yeah. Our copycat here left behind soil, fibers, and maybe even a little DNA. Whoever it is, they're definitely very new to this. From the autopsy reports, I found out there was a struggle, and Melinda sent up some skin she found underneath the girl's nails. While our guy isn't in the systems I've checked, we have DNA for comparison now." He walked to the other side of the room and gestured for them to come over. "And the fibers? They had traces of cooking oil, grease, and various kinds of fat, which means-"

"That our guy is somewhere near food." Olivia finished his sentence. Her stomach grumbled a little at the thought of a burger, but she knew that this bug wouldn't let her keep it down. "Maybe he works at a Happy Burger, tried to kill to get some sort of control?"

"Or maybe he really does idolize our real killer." Elliot looked over at his partner and then back at Ryan.

"The soil is still going through tests, but I'll make sure to call you the minute I get the results." Ryan went back to looking over the tests on another set of fibers found near the crime scene. Olivia and Elliot left the lab and Elliot stopped her outside.

"What do you think about all those tests? Do you think that we'll be able to get that guy? I mean, we're looking for someone who has access, but probably works a minimum wage cooking job. How are we gonna find this bastard?"

"I don't know, El. We'll get him, though. We just need more concrete evidence." She ran her fingers through her hair, and then turned to face him. "Want to get Chinese?"

"Sure. Maybe we can talk about everything in the case while we're at it." Elliot smiled at her. "So, I guess you're over that flu?"

"Yeah, and in only a couple of days, too. New record." She gave him a smile. In truth, she didn't feel completely healthy, but it would go away, it always did.

* * *

><p><strong>House of Olivia Benson<strong>

**October 11, 7:52 p.m**

Olivia sat against the wall of her bathroom with a can of ginger ale and a box of saltines. She took a small bite of one, and tried to focus on keeping her stomach still. She was almost positive that this wasn't the flu, and she thought back to that night, three weeks ago.

_Elliot sat with his beer in his hand, and took a sip. "Hmm… Do you hear that? It's the 90s knocking. Full House. Strip." He smiled, having won another round. Olivia grumbled as she took off her jeans._

_ "I keep on getting awful cards. There's no way that it's just chance." She flipped her hair out of her face and grabbed for the deck of cards, but Elliot leaned in and got them first. _

_ "Uh uh. Remember the rules? Winner gets to deal."_

_ "You little cheater." She grinned, annoyed. The entire room was warm with August heat, because the air conditioner had broken._

_ "Aw, you just say that because you're jealous of my impossible luck." Their eyes locked, and the room grew silent, with just the noise of the city and their quiet breathing filling the room. Elliot leaned in and kissed her, the entire kiss lasting a few seconds before Olivia pulled away drawing a breath. Her eyes flickered up towards him, and she leaned in, and they kissed again, the entire room filling with a passion._

Olivia looked at the little piece of plastic on the sink counter, and pulled it down to look at the results. A sigh grew inside of her chest, and she put her head against the light blue bathroom wall. The little pink plus was a secret, a lie, an accident. And now she had to find out what to do with it. Olivia had messed up, and she had messed up bad.


	3. Chapter 3

**It took me so long to write and edit this. I had to use my phone to put in the time stamps. Anyways, here's chapter 3! Don't forget to review.**

* * *

><p><strong>Central Park<strong>

**October 14, 8:45 a.m**

The screams and laughter of children filled the park. Kids were running around Central Park, getting the last of their energy out before the seasons changed, and when it would be dangerous to run around screaming because of the slippery ice and snow. A little blond boy ran over to his mother, giving her a bright red leaf with yellow streaks tingeing the edges. The mother smiled and thanked him for the little gift, and he ran off to go play with other kids on the playground.

Olivia looked out and breathed in the October air, chilly, but only just. She looked around, taking in the park's spectacular autumn view one last time before heading off to the precinct. She'd worked on some paperwork at home, so the captain was allowing her to come in a couple hours later than usual. She walked up to the car, swinging the door open and driving off to work, which wasn't nearly as cheerful as the park, except for when they were actually catching the perps.

She swung out into the parking lot behind the building, and walked out of the car, closing the door and jogging in. She took the stairs to the floor, feeling more tired than usual. The doors opened up and the noises of telephones, of people shuffling about and talking, and the ruffling of papers greeted her. She stopped by Elliot's desk, as he was deep in files that he'd put off filling out. "Elliot, you really need to work on doing them when you really have the free time." She put her hand on his desk and looked over his shoulder, something he had hated but had gotten used to over all of the years he and Liv had been working together. "Any leads?"

"Actually, yeah. Being busy with my paperwork, I haven't completed the entire background check yet, but it's pretty promising. We got a fingerprint, and it matches the guy's. He got arrested for having kiddie porn about ten years ago."

"How old is he now? Was he let out early?" She questioned him as she went to pour coffee into a cup at the desk behind him. It was lukewarm, but it would have to do. She needed to stay awake and alert.

"If I remember correctly, twenty-seven." He shut the paperwork he'd been working on and pushed it to the edge of his desk as he got up and grabbed the remote for the TV. He pulled up the findings he'd had on the guy. "His name's Andy Farber. He was arrested for the kiddie porn in 2000, but he got off before serving his full sentence by charming the judge."

"A sociopath. Using his charm and looks to try and get away with his ways." She eyed the face carefully, trying to see if she recognized him.

"Yeah, and I found out that the neighborhood he lived in as a child often reported their pets going missing. Only one was ever found, and it had been decapitated. It was in the woods. Poor little cat." Elliot pulled up a picture of the map of the perp's old neighborhood.

"Does anyone still live there from when Andy was a kid?"

"Yeah, we're in luck. There's one family, moving out in a couple of months. Their daughter just went off to college. She was in middle school when Andy was arrested. Want to go over right now?"

"Yeah. Maybe they have an idea of the whereabouts of him. Wait, what about his parents?"

"Dad walked out on them when Andy was seven. The mom killed herself, about a year ago. It was shortly before his trial to get released."

"So I guess we only have the neighbors and anyone close to Andy that we can find."

"Right. Let's go." Elliot got his jacket, and put it on. He flashed a close-lipped smile at Olivia before they both walked down the stairs and out of the precinct to go to Andy's past.

* * *

><p><strong>Residence of Alex and Sarah Hamilton<strong>

**October 14, 11:43 a.m**

Olivia knocked on the door. "Alex and Sarah Hamilton?" There wasn't an answer. Olivia waited a few seconds before knocking on the door again. "Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton? This is the NYPD, could we talk to you for a few minutes?" A loud crash, like the sound of glass shattering, could be heard, and Elliot busted the door open. They started searching through the first floor of the house, and Elliot went upstairs, looking through the few rooms upstairs.

"It's clear up here!" Elliot shouted down the staircase and came back downstairs just as Olivia entered the kitchen.

"Oh my god." Olivia looked at the gory scene in front of her. The window was bashed in, and glass littered the floor, blood surrounding the pieces like they were small islands. The glass still surrounding the window had blood stained on a few of the shards. There were two bodies of elderly people lying on the floor. Each had multiple stab wounds, and the husband's eyes were gouged out. Their blood was slowly filling the entire floor, soaking into the bright orange kitchen carpet. Olivia silently cursed herself for having eaten this morning, and ran out of the house as Elliot walked in to see the scene in the kitchen.

Olivia was out leaning over the porch railing, evacuating the contents of her stomach onto the grass beneath. Eventually she just started dry heaving, before it all went away. She turned around and saw Elliot standing in the doorway. _"Crap," _she muttered silently.

"I called Cragen. He's sending guys down here to get the bodies out. What set you off in there?" He walked closer to her and put his hand on her arm and gave it a gentle squeeze lovingly, comforting her.

"I don't know, there was just so much blood everywhere. I just want this case to be over with. I'm sick of all the bodies everywhere." She looked out past the houses on the other side of the street.

"Quite literally," he added, and then laughed to himself. Olivia turned her head and gave him a look that just made him smile.

"You aren't gonna tell the captain, are you?" She asked, as she watched the first ambulance pull up, and then the next, and then a couple of other cars.

"Don't worry about it. We all have our off days. He doesn't have to know the exact details. I'm going to have to tell him something, though. You know, puke in the area of the crime scene? I'll just tell him you got food poisoning form bad Chinese."

Olivia nodded. "Thanks, El. Let's get out of here and find our guy."

* * *

><p><strong>Special Victims Unit<strong>

**October 14, 6:45 p.m**

"We found that Happy Burger that Andy works at. He works the night shift. In fact, he should be there in just about thirty minutes." Munch told Elliot.

"Alright, where is it?" He was eager to get the guy.

Munch pulled up a picture of a Happy Burger and its address. He let out a sigh. "You're gonna have to be careful about this one. The guy works at the Times Square Happy Burger."

Elliot took in a sharp breath. "An extremely public place, so no one can make a scene." He picked up the keys to the car. "Thanks, Munch." He quickly headed down the hallway before looking for Olivia really quick. She was talking to the captain and he nodded his head before she glanced down the hallway at Elliot. She said a few quick words to him before rushing down the hallway after Elliot. "Ready to get our copycat?"

"Definitely."

* * *

><p><strong>Times Square Happy Burger<strong>

**October 14, 7:07 p.m**

Olivia and Elliot walked into the large building and immediately the smell of fried food hit their faces. Parents and their kids sat in booths and everyone seemed happy eating the processed, fatty foods. Everything was so simple for everyone. Olivia looked around and then looked past the cashier into the back. "He's not on this floor. Let's try the second one."

Elliot looked around past the parents, trying to look for the brown haired, slim kid from the mug shot they had. He scanned past the back of the first floor and spotted someone near the bathrooms. "Liv, over there."

Olivia looked over to where Elliot had gestured. A man had his head down, with shaggy brown hair, wearing a janitor suit with black boots on. He was mopping up a pool of mustard. Olivia walked over to him. "Andy Farber?"

He looked up at them, and his eyes went wild for a second, before taking a sense of defeat. He sighed. "Yeah. You're here to arrest me?"

Elliot pulled out some cuffs, and slapped them onto the man's wrists, starting to lead him out.

Olivia spoke to him while they walked out of the building, with only a few parents glancing over to see what was happening. "Andy Farber, you are under arrest for the rape and murder of Janie Doe, and the murder of Alex and Sarah Hamilton. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, one will be given to you in court. If you give up these rights anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

* * *

><p><strong>Special Victims Unit<strong>

**October 14, 7:37 p.m**

Olivia looked through the glass. The man had his head on his hands, but his eyes were open. It was like he was waiting for them to come in and riddle hi with questions. Elliot came back into the watch room. "Ready to go in? He didn't want a lawyer."

"Yeah. I need to know why he did it." Olivia took the file from Elliot and walked into the room, sliding the file onto the table and sitting down across from him. She looked at the guy, and then started to speak. "Why'd you kill her? She was just a little girl. She had so much to live for, and you cut it short."

The man's sorry eyes looked up and then he cast them towards the floor again, guilty. "I didn't kill anyone."

"Really? Then who's this?" She slid the picture over across the table. It was the little girl's headshot, and you could see the dark bruises staining her young face and the cuts on her lips and neck. Her hair covered most of the head wound, but not all of it. The guy shot a look at it and made a soft noise, like a squeak.

"I didn't kill that little girl."

"Really? You know, I don't have much of a tolerance for liars, but I sure as hell don't have any tolerance for lying rapists and murderers."

"We never meant it to be like that! He said it was just a game!" The man shouted back.

Olivia raised an eyebrow and the man slunk back and pulled his lips tightly together, realizing he'd slipped up. "We? Who's the other guy, Andy?" She stopped and leaned in. "Is he the one that made you kill her?"

"No, no. He just gave me her body. I- I didn't know what to do. He said that she was ruined. I dumped her in an alley and tipped you guys off. She was just so small and innocent- I couldn't do that to her, just leave her there."

"Who's the guy, Andy? Who's your friend?"

Andy stopped and took in a breath, tapping his fingers on the desk. "His name's Avery Harris. He lived on my street until high school when he moved away." Olivia got up and jumped to the door, but it was already opening. Elliot closed his phone that he'd been talking on.

"We've got him, Liv. Fin just found the apartment. Let's go. We may not have a lot of time if he sees that Andy isn't there."

* * *

><p><strong>Residence of Avery Harris<strong>

**October 14, 8:27 p.m**

The door busted off one of the hinges and flew open once Elliot had knocked it down. He slowly scouted through the apartment and lowered his gun when he walked into the bedroom. "Liv, come here." She walked in, quietly.

"It's over then, isn't it?" The man's body hung from the ceiling fan, limp. There was a note tucked in his jacket pocket. His shaggy blond hair hung over his lifeless, open blue eyes. Olivia shook her head distastefully and looked around the room, while Elliot put on gloves to pull the note out. Olivia flicked on the light, and tumbled over a loose floorboard. She pulled the floorboard up and looked at the horror of possessions that Avery had collected. There were two huge sacks, and one of them had ripped, pieces of animal skulls leaking out of it. The other one was still closed, so she carefully opened it. More skulls flew out of the bag, as if they'd been trapped too close and needed to move.

"This guy was sick." Her gloved hand thudded into a box beneath the sack she had just opened and she looked questioningly at the area. She picked up the bag and moved it. Underneath was a box, and she tentatively opened it. Inside, there were a handful of bags, each containing one molar, painted with blood. "Elliot, there were more victims." Her voice was soft and shocked. She moved through the little plastic bags in the box, and managed to count up 17. One of them was still freshly bloodied. "Each one has a name. El, there are 17 teeth in here. We only have eight victims." She looked up at him and he just shook his head. "I'll get Ryan and the others down here. We have a lot of paperwork to go over."

* * *

><p><strong>Special Victims Unit<strong>

**October 14, 9:22 p.m**

The phones were fairly quiet. It was late, and everyone was now working on finding the victims from the teeth, including the recent one.

"Hey. Hey, did you guys find him? I need to apologize to him." Andy spoke from his cell, where he was being kept until the interrogation was completely over. Olivia looked up and realized no one had told him.

She walked over to him. "Andy, I'm sorry. Avery killed himself." She was genuinely sorry. Even if they'd both been horrible people, they'd been friends.

"What? No, no, Avery wouldn't leave me." Andy shook his head. "Avery wouldn't do that, we made a deal when we were kids. Blood brothers, we stay together, you know? Friends."

"Andy, I'm sorry. Avery is dead." Olivia looked at him, seeing what his reaction would be.

Andy's face dropped. "We made a deal." His voice was soft, like a little kid's. "I can't break our deal. He quickly pulled a gun out of his pocket, and shot himself in the head. Blood sprayed along the metal, and was already puddling on the floor. Olivia's jaw dropped, and she put her hand up to her face, and pulled the sticky red substance away and onto her fingers. She started backing away as the room flooded with detectives and cops who'd heard the noise. She fell back into the edge of the desk as Elliot rushed over.

"Olivia? Olivia, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Her eyes were wide and she looked at the body of Andy lying so still on the floor. She looked into her partner's eyes and just shook her head, and he helped her up and wrapped her in an embrace. "Liv, you're fine, you're okay." He brought her closer to him. "You're gonna be okay." His hands were wrapped around her back and his fingers felt her soft hair.

"Elliot, promise me something." She nudged her head next to his. His warmth comforted her, but that was the whole point of a hug like theirs.

"Yeah, Liv?"

"Don't leave me."


	4. Chapter 4

**Still getting used to the whole author's note thing. Anyways, thanks for all of the reviews, favorites and follows! Sorry that I havent updated in a while, but between schoolwork and the two stories it's kinda rough. Keep on reading!**

* * *

><p><strong>Alley behind Cramer's Coffee<strong>

**November 5, 8:17 a.m**

Cameras flashed as the NYPD took photos of the body. "I just don't understand... how could someone do this?" Blood was sprayed up and streaked across the wall from the deep slash in the woman's neck. Elliot looked down in distaste at the body. "This poor woman. Stabbed in the gut, and then slashed across the neck. The girl's blonde hair fell over her face, and was knotted and mangled with blood.

Olivia walked over to him. "Sorry I'm late. I had some errands to run." Her dark blue jacket was zipped up, keeping her warm in the November chill. It had been getting colder and colder, exponentially. She swung her hair over her shoulder. "What happened this time?"

"It's the same MO, second body of our guy's work. We just need Warner to tell us if she's pregnant like the last girl." Elliot sighed, and rubbed his eyes, tired.

"Do you think we have a serial killer on our hands?"

"It's definitely possible." Elliot looked back at the body before they both went to the car to go back to the 1-6.

* * *

><p><strong>Special Victims Unit<strong>

**November 5, 11:30 a.m**

"Well, let's see how it all adds up. Each girl was Caucasian, with brown hair. We assume that each one was pregnant but Warner hasn't gotten back to us yet. So she's our third victim, if everything matches up." Elliot flipped through the pictures on the screen.

"God. How do people even do this? It's sick." She looked over all of the evidence again. "What is he like? What is his life like that he has to take his anger out on _pregnant_ women?"

Elliot looked over at her. "Guess we won't know until we catch him."

Olivia shook he head and then looked over everything again. "So other than the fact that they look alike, what do they have in common? How does the murderer know them? First woman was found in an alley, half naked in Harlem. The second was found in Brooklyn. And this girl was found by a coffee shop, in Manhattan. Our first one probably didn't even know she was pregnant, so we don't know how the murder would know."

She paused and pointed to the next girl. "She was almost halfway through her pregnancy, but only saw doctors at a clinic because she couldn't afford more. And our latest victim, our Jane Doe, was killed and from the looks of it, constantly went to doctors and dentists on schedule. She looks like she was well taken care of. Whoever she is- maybe someone's looking for her." Olivia left her eyes on the woman, and for a second she related herself to the victim, but she stopped. The closer she got to the case, the worse it would end up. "Call Warner. See if she got anything. It's been a couple of hours. She should have the results, at least some of them.

Elliot whipped out his phone, and called the ME. "Yeah. Yeah, it's Elliot. Yeah, the results. Okay. Okay, we'll be down there soon."

Olivia looked over to him and nodded. "She's got 'em?"

"Yep. Let's go, Liv."

* * *

><p><strong>Autopsy Room<strong>

**November 5, 11:34 a.m**

"Your Jane Doe…" Melinda's face looked grim, and her voice was soft and tinged with sadness. "She was nineteen weeks pregnant... it was a girl."

Elliot sighed, and looked over to his partner, whose eyes were dull. "Hey, Liv, let's go. We've got a guy to catch." His voice was soft, soothing almost.

"Yeah, let's go." Olivia walked out with her partner and they went to the elevator to get out of the building. The weight of everything was almost crushing.

* * *

><p><strong>Morning Joe's Coffee Place<strong>

**November 5, 1:00 p.m**

"Liv, what's going on?" Elliot asked gently. The coffee shop was drowning out their conversation so only they could hear it. Olivia held the cup in her hands to keep them warm.

"I applied for adoption, a couple of months ago. No- less than that."

"Is that why the case is getting to you? The idea of a child being in the world we live in? Liv, don't worry about it- you'll be a great mom."

"Yeah, thanks for the support, but I got denied. I'm not in a good enough system to be a parent. I have a dangerous job that has me work long hours. No immediate family for anything, I'm not extremely rich to buy my way into anything- I just am not considered 'prime parent material'." It wasn't a lie. It was the complete truth, she had been denied, and those were most of the words that they'd given her. But the real reason it destroyed her was because she was pregnant, and she had a child growing inside of her. She could relate to these murders, and she worried about it being her next. All it took was one connection and she could be a target. They just need to find that connection, and she wouldn't have to worry anymore.

"Oh… Liv, I'm so sorry." Elliot was completely genuine. Maybe he didn't even remember what had happened between them.

"Yeah, well… maybe they're right. Maybe I should just stay the way it's supposed to be. The way it's just got to stay." Olivia's eyes flickered out the window, and she watched a couple of cars go by, and a couple walking down the street with a little kid of maybe the age of six or seven.

"Liv, don't say that. You're gonna be a great mom, and if they don't see that, they're crazy." Elliot put his hand on hers and gave her a gentle close-lipped smile.

She gave him a small smile in return, but pulled her hand away after a few seconds. She wasn't going to be the other woman. Even with the divorce going on, she couldn't do that to Kathy- he was still married, and he had four kids.

Olivia's phone rang and she answered with a couple of yeahs and uh-huhs, and she briefly looked up at Elliot, and then closed the phone. "Hey, El, I have to go. It's personal-"

"Say no more, I've got you covered. I can tell the captain, you've been working overtime more so I don't think he'll mind. There's not much we can do anyways."

Olivia nodded and almost ran out the coffee shop, and went down to where the nearest subway was. Elliot looked on until she was out of view from the coffee shop's window, and he took a sip of the lukewarm drink. He wondered what the emotion was that had been on her face. Awe? Excitement? Fear? Happiness? Maybe even anger? Or maybe it was a mix… he knew better than to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Women's Health Clinic<strong>

**November 5, 1:45 p.m**

Olivia went up to the front desk and signed her name in. "I got told there was a spot open, I came here as fast as I could."

"Yes. Since you filled out the paperwork but had to reschedule, you'll just have to wait until the doctor comes out to get you. You can sit in the chair over there." The receptionist was kind, and you could tell she dealt with this quite often. There must've been a lot of women out there who were just like Olivia.

Olivia sat down in one of the bright blue leather and wooden chairs and looked at the photos on the walls and on the magazines. Expectant mothers were posed for cameras, and newborns were staring, bright eyed into the faces of anyone reading the passages or looking at the photos. Olivia subconsciously rested her own hand on her abdomen, but noticed after a few moments and pulled her hand away. She couldn't develop it as a habit or else the guys would know.

And that just wasn't something she was ready to tell them yet. She was still getting over it herself.

A doctor's face entered through the open door. "Ms. Benson? Glad to see you again, especially after last time."

Olivia gave the woman a smile. "Couldn't quit on you again." She got up and walked over to the women. Her NYPD jacket was slightly ruffled, and the dark blue clashed with the soft pastel colors and bright baby colors in the office. "Sorry that I'm not wearing other clothes, I just left from work."

"It's fine." They entered a room that had a computer and an ultrasound, as well as a screen to project all of the findings. Olivia sat down on the bed. "We ran your blood work, and everything came back as expected. You're in great health, Olivia."

"Thank you." She took in her surroundings, and wondered what they were doing at the office before a question snapped her back.

"And you said the date of conception was July 23rd?" The woman flipped through her clipboard, analyzing all of the data again.

"Yeah, that's right. 15 weeks today." She smiled and a laugh rumbled in her throat.

"The only thing we need to do is get that long awaited ultrasound in. You came in at around 9 weeks, which was eligible for the first ultrasound, but we decided to just take the blood work and get you the vitamins. And then you came two weeks ago but you had to rush out because of work so we only got the blood work and refilled the prescription for the vitamins. You've been taking them every day, right?"

Olivia nodded. "Every day, before work. It's like clockwork by now."

The woman nodded, not in response to Olivia abut just in general. "And because you're 38, you know you classify as a high risk pregnancy, so we'll ask you to come in slightly more often and we'll have to keep more of an eye on you. You're in exceptional shape and you have a clean bill of health. All you need to do is keep it that way. Nothing too high stress. So, would you like to get that ultrasound in?"

Olivia sighed, and then nodded. She was nervous, but it came with a sense of excitement. "Yeah." She smoothed out the paper that she was lying on and rolled up her jacket to expose her stomach.

"This gel is going to be a little cold, I'm warning you." The woman squirted a small amount of translucent blue gel on Olivia's stomach, and she gave a small shudder. The woman wasn't lying.

The device flickered o life, and the computer got ready to project an image onto the flat screen. The woman carefully rolled over the exposed skin, and smiled. She froze the image and gave a few clicks, saving the images.

"What? Why're you smiling?" Olivia had craned her neck to look over at the woman.

"Because," she set up the computer to show the moving images onto the screen and Olivia gave a slight gasp, "you're going to have twins."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note! And I remembered this time! Anyways, thanks for the reviews so quickly! I happen t appreciate hastiness, so I've spun up a treat for Halloween. Don't expect anything else for a few days though.**** As always, read, review, favorite, follow, and tell more people!**

* * *

><p><strong>Residence of Olivia Benson<strong>

**November 9, 5:30 a.m**

Olivia Benson woke up from her nightmare in a cold sweat. She blinked a couple of times in the darkness of her apartment, letting her eyes adjust to the light. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up, realizing that there was almost no reason to go back to bed since it was already 5:30.

She walked into the bathroom and ran the water in the sink for a few seconds, before splashing her face with some warm water to waken her a bit. She lifted up her shirt to expose her stomach and she looked in the mirror. She imagined the two little fetuses cozied up next to each other inside of her. Brother and sister- sisters, or just brothers. She wished she could know, but the surprise gave her even more excitement.

Olivia gently ran her fingers over the now noticeable curve in her figure. She'd noticed that the weight she'd put on had been too obvious, and she'd have to change the way she dressed. She'd already had to put away a few pair of her tighter jeans, and all of the shirts that had previously hugged her figure had been stashed away as well. Olivia had started looking at maternity stores, but she still hadn't bought anything. She only had a few more weeks before she'd really have to change her wardrobe, and even have to tell people…

But for now, it was her secret. It was a warm secret hidden deep inside of her that gave her comfort, joy, and security. Olivia Benson was finally getting what she'd always wanted: a family.

* * *

><p><strong>Special Victims Unit<strong>

**November 10, 8:43 a.m**

Elliot readjusted his tie and looked over at his partner. Something was different about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on. She'd been livelier lately, back to her old self. He was glad he really had her back, because his Olivia was always there and ready to go. He'd always liked that about her. "Hey, did you get anything from the paperwork last night?"

Olivia remembered taking it home. It'd probably been what had given her the nightmare. She shook her head. "No. I just can't believe our guy. Three victims, and each time, no slip. We can't even see the link between them. And from the looks of it, they aren't just strangers." Olivia flipped back onto a page from her desk and looked through it before closing the file and handing it to Elliot. "Any notes from it that I have are in there. Your turn to pull an all-nighter."

Elliot looked over to Fin after taking the file. Fin nodded and then the Captain looked over to Elliot. "Another body. They found her in the Hudson." He nodded at the two. "Both of you, I want you to go. You've been the ones on the case so far, and this new victim differs from the pattern. He may have slipped up. Good luck."

Elliot turned to face his partner who was already getting her jacket zipped up. She hadn't taken it off all day. "Cold?"

She looked down at the jacket. "Not really, it's just- comfortable." She gave him a smile and they walked out to go to the crime scene.

* * *

><p><strong>Hudson Riverbank<strong>

**November 10, 9:25 a.m**

Olivia turned her head to the side to look at the woman's face, washed against the rocks, and her clothes in tatters. "Do we have an estimate of how long her body was in there?"

"A couple of days, maybe. We can't be sure until the autopsy." One of the interns answered her question and then walked off to put away an evidence bag.

The woman had light brown hair in drawn out curls, probably from the salt water. There was bruising on her face, and she had a slash in her neck and a stab in the gut, just like the others. Olivia shook her head and sighed. "Sick bastard's gotten away with it again."

Elliot walked over to his partner. "She had ID tucked in her front pocket. Her name's Amanda Taylor, she lives by Central Park." He let out a sigh and looked down at the body next to his partner. "She was 23. And an organ donor. She takes the 3 train to work every day. It says here she works at Crytivo Industries, New York." He looked at the two ID cards, her license and work ID.

Olivia saw something glint in the sunlight and picked a shiny peace of metal out of a crevice in the rock. She rubbed off some of the sandy dirt with her gloves, and she was able to see it. "A ring… Elliot, was she married?"

Elliot shook his head. "Nope. Fairly certain she was single, at least from the looks of these cards."

"Then maybe our perp wanted one last look at her and left something behind." The gold ring shone in the noonday rays, and it brought its own light to the case.

* * *

><p><strong>Crime Scene Investigation Lab<strong>

**November 10, 9:09 p.m**

Ryan moved around the lab table to meet up with the two detectives. "So, I couldn't find any of the sweat, or skin cells like I was hoping for, but I did get something else." The ring was centered in a glass box with tubes attached and UV lighting. "Elliot, turn the lights off."

Elliot flipped the switch, and the box in the center illuminated the ring with the UV light. There was a bright orange tint in the ridges on the edges of the ring. "After running this last test, I got you a print. I haven't gotten to run it through yet, and because it's a partial, you'll have to eliminate some of the matches, and it'll take longer. Am I still running it through pretty much all available databases?"

"Yep. We have no other leads. We only have this. So, yeah, run it through everything." Elliot looked at the complex machinery and wondered how all the chemical components worked together to give them that potentially life-saving print.

"Alright. I'll call you all when it's ready. For now, I have to go through this other heap of evidence. What were the autopsy results?"

"Same cause of death. Went into shock from loss of blood, or hemorrhagic shock as Warner said."

Ryan waited for the key part of the report, and gently raised an eyebrow.

"14 weeks pregnant."

Olivia's head lifted, hearing what Elliot had said. She'd partially zoned out, but quickly put the facts together. It had been their victim. Not her, she reminded herself, not like the nightmare. She was fine, and she was okay and here in the unit where the scares couldn't reach her.

Elliot looked at the clock on the wall. "Wow, it's late. Hey, I'm going home for the night. See you tomorrow." He nodded at his partner and left the CSU.

"Yeah, tomorrow." She smiled and watched him leave, before leaving herself. When she saw she was alone, she pulled one of the sonogram photos out of her pocket, and ran her fingers over the two little shapes in gray. She tucked it back in her pocket safely and walked to her desk, putting her unnecessary stuff away for the next day and looking into the Captain's office. "Now or never." She muttered under her breath.

Olivia strolled over to the door and carefully opened it. "Captain?"

He looked up. "Yeah? What is it, Olivia?"

She closed the door behind her and looked through the glass to see if anyone was around, but they were the only ones there. "It's important. I'm ready to tell someone and I think you should hear it. It involves work, I guess."

He looked at her slightly worried, and raised an eyebrow. "Is everything okay?"

She sighed and closed her eyes briefly and then opened them again. "Yeah, things are beyond okay. It's just-" She sighed again and pulled one of the photos out of her pocket and handed it to him. "I'm pregnant."


	6. Chapter 6

**New chapter! I hope you guys enjoy it. Don't forget to review, I'd love to know your opinion on this one since it's a bit- heavy, I think describes it nicely.**

* * *

><p><strong>Special Victims Unit<strong>

**November 10, 9:17 p.m**

Cragen looked at the scan and looked back up at his detective. "How far along?"

"Three months. I wanted to make sure I was out of the woods before I told you." Olivia tucked her hands into her pockets.

"And I'm the only one who knows? Who's the father, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Yeah, you're the only one. It doesn't really matter who it is… it's just this guy."

He raised an eyebrow and then looked back at her. "Okay. I'll have to put you at a desk around 6 months-"

"I know." She interrupted quickly, before letting the captain continue.

"And you'll have to tell Elliot soon. He is your partner, after all."

"I will. Don't worry about it. He'll get to know soon."

Cragen nodded again and then put the picture on the desk. Olivia's eyes flickered from the photo to him. "Keep it. You're supposed to give them to family and to be honest, everyone at the precinct- you're all the family I've got."

Cragen smiled as he picked up the picture again and watched Olivia walk out of the office and close the door, heading home. It was nice to think she was finally getting what she'd wanted.

* * *

><p><strong>Special Victims Unit,<strong>

**November 11, 10:06 a.m**

The little boy walked in with one of the policeman who was gently tugging him along into the precinct. He had an olive colored sweater on, and his blond hair was gently parted to the right. "Hey, is there a detective I could talk to?"

Olivia looked over and got out of her chair. "Yeah, what is it? What happened?"

"The boy's mom is missing. She was pregnant. She had brown hair, Caucasian, fits what you guys told us elsewhere. The preschool called the apartment when the kid didn't show up, and we got called, and we found the boy sleeping in his room. He doesn't know where his mom could've gone." The man's voice was hushed, so that the little boy wouldn't hear him.

Olivia nodded and then squatted down to face the boy. "Hi buddy. I'm Olivia, what's your name?"

"Jacob. The policeman told me you were gonna find my mom. Do you know where she went?"

"No, we don't, but we're gonna try to find her. How old are you, Jacob?"

"I turn 5 next week. Mommy said that we were gonna have a party and that there would be cake and I could bring my friends over. She said it was gonna be right before my sister's birthday."

"You have a sister?"

Jacob shook his head. "Not yet. My sister is in my mom's tummy. Mommy said that she would be a late birthday present."

Olivia looked up at the man and then stood up again. "Alright. Thanks for bringing him over. This is a first though; it's different from the pattern. He doesn't have a dad?"

"No, single mom." The guy pulled his lips tightly together. "Poor kid. His mom's probably dead by now."

"We can't say anything for sure, especially since this is different. It might not even be our guy."

The guy just shook his head. "Who else would target pregnant women? What a creep. Well, I have to go. We're working on a case down at homicide that could get me promoted. If she's alive, I hope you find her." The man walked out of the doors, leaving Jacob with Olivia.

"Well Jacob, have you eaten today?"

Jacob shook his head. "Do you have Frosted Flakes? Mommy doesn't let me have 'em because she says they'll rot my teeth out, but Andrew's mom lets him have them! They're really sweet and crunchy."

"Well, I'll see what I can do. Can you wait her with my friend, Elliot? I have to talk to my Captain, so we can see what you can get to eat, alright?"

Jacob nodded his head and looked over to Elliot.

"El, just watch him for a couple minutes for me, alright? I have to figure this out with Cragen."

Elliot nodded. "Sure thing." He turned his head to Jacob. "Hey bud. So I hear that you're Jacob. What's your favorite color?"

Olivia smiled and opened the door to the Captain's office and closed the door behind her.

"Hey, what is it?" He looked up from some paperwork he was filing.

"There's a boy. His mom's missing. She's pregnant." She looked out through the window where Elliot gave the boy a high five. "We think she might be one of the victims. She could still be alive."

Cragen looked out the window. "Don't get you hopes out. Try and find out as much as you can about the boy. Put it up that his mother is missing in a press conference. There's a chance that if she is alive, we could save her."

"The victims were never held for long before, at least, never that we'd seen."

"Hopefully we were wrong." Cragen looked back the boy. "Have him draw. Maybe he can explain something minor that would be overlooked."

* * *

><p><strong>Child Interrogation Room<strong>

**November 11, 10:46 a.m**

"Hey Jacob, can you tell me where your mom was when you woke up?"

Jacob shrugged his arms. "I don't know. The cops were there and she wasn't home."

"Did you hear anything at night or maybe hear something and then go back to bed?" Olivia asked hopefully.

Jacob picked up a toy car from the table and ran it over the table a couple of times.

"Jacob? Do you remember hearing anything last night?"

He stopped moving the matchbox car, and looked at Olivia. "I heard a bang in the middle of the night. It was kinda like a chair falling. I went back to sleep. I thought it was Mommy just dropping something or maybe closing the door loudly. Sometimes she closes the door loud if she's mad."

"Were there ever any men that came to your apartment? Maybe people that were mean?"

He shrugged. "No. I don't have a daddy. Mommy says I'm a test tube baby, whatever that means. She says my sister's one, too."

Olivia looked over at the window, because she would be in the system. They'd be able to find out about her. "Jacob, what days is your birthday exactly? Do you know?"

He nodded happily. "November 18th."

"Thanks, Jacob." Olivia smiled and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"You look a little like my mom. She has brown hair just like yours. She always tucks her hair behind her ears." He smiled to himself and ran the car around the edge of the table again. "You are gonna find her, right?"

"We're trying, Jacob. Did you like the Frosted Flakes earlier?"

"Yeah, but they were actually too sweet."

Olivia grinned. "Guess your mom was right." Elliot opened the door, and his eyes darted over to Olivia.

"We found something." Elliot looked at Jacob and then back to Olivia, who had gotten up and was walking towards Elliot.

"Was it a body?" She whispered softly, ever so slightly.

Elliot nodded and then looked back to the little boy, who had gone to play with a plastic dinosaur and was terrorizing a dollhouse.

Olivia frowned and then walked out of the room with her partner. "Let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>Clearwater Pond<strong>

**November 11, 11:45 a.m**

"Do you think it's her?"

"I hope it's not." Olivia stood next to her partner and watched the black bag get zipped up over the woman's face. "That poor boy. He doesn't have any other family, at least not immediate family, from the looks of it.

Elliot looked over the crime scene. There was blood in a sticky puddle on the asphalt, and spatter from her carotid artery.

Olivia looked at a separate couple droplets of blood that had sunken into the porous gravel. "Elliot, I think our killer may have cut his finger on the way back to his car."

"And he cut her just like with everyone else." Elliot looked back at the blood patterns and then over to his partner. "Wait, why do you say that?"

"Just look at it. It isn't like anything else over here. I think this is our killer's." She pulled out a swab and took up some of the blood that was on the surface. She handed it over to her partner. "Give this to the others for the lab analysis. Let's hope our guy's in the system.

* * *

><p><strong>Special Victims Unit<strong>

**November 11, 1:23 p.m**

"I scanned the fingerprint." Ryan flipped around to look at the detectives. "I can run the blood through now, but that fingerprint wasn't in any of the systems. Literally, nothing came up. There were no matches, even though it was a partial. Whoever this person is, they're clean."

"Person- I thought we'd established that this was a man." Olivia crossed her arms over her stomach.

"I'm not sure. The way that the fingerprint is shaped, it could be either. I can tell you if the perp is a woman when I get the blood completely scanned."

Elliot nodded. "Alright, well, you know who to call." Elliot started to walk out, and Olivia stayed to talk with Ryan for a few seconds about the case and Ryan nodded and muttered something back. Elliot looked back and saw Olivia give a brief and gentle smile before she ran to catch up to him.

"Hey, at least now we know more about them. We could find them." Olivia seemed positive and hopeful, and then Elliot piped up.

"Well, what about Jacob? How do we tell him that his mom is probably dead? We don't even have her name."

Olivia sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. We just have to hope that he doesn't get thrown in the foster system. The poor kid's birthday is next week, and his life is getting ruined. No mom, no sister, no father." Her voice phased on the last word.

"Don't be hard on yourself. The case is getting to everyone." Elliot looked at his partner and she looked back, and their eyes made contact and for a second there was a huge mix of emotions.

Olivia broke contact and looked into the room where Jacob was talking to Huang, and then she looked at Munch's desk, where he was looking for the mom in any local clinics. She spun on her heels and turned to her partner.

"Can we talk?" Olivia's soft brown eyes had a hint of her question being more of a demand. She gave him a side smile.

"Yeah, sure. What about?"

"Nothing much. Do you maybe wanna stop at the cribs to talk about it… alone?"

Elliot lifted his eyebrows and then knit them together. "Liv, is everything alright?"

"Yeah El, it's fine. Can we just-"

"Yeah, sure." He walked with her down to the room full of bunk beds, and he closed the door behind him. It was a little dark, but his eyes quickly adjusted and he gazed into his partner's eyes.

She looked up into his eyes. "Thanks for talking to me." She rubbed her hands onto her arms to keep her warm, a chill brushing against her.

"Yeah, it's fine. You're my partner." He reached out and touched her arm, which was covered by the jacket she had. "You cold?"

"Just a little. So about what I wanted to talk about…" Her sentence trailed off and she was quiet for a few seconds, before saying in a hushed voice, "I'm pregnant."

"What? Liv, that's great!" His face lit up. "I'm happy for you. How far along?"

"A little over 15 weeks."

He smiled and sat down on one of the beds next to her. "Have you come up with a name?"

"Names. They're twins." She smiled to herself and pulled out one of the three pictures she had left. She handed it over to her partner who gently took it in his hand and looked at the picture. His face was bright.

"Do you know the genders?"

"No, not yet. I have a couple more weeks before I can know that."

"So what about those names? Plural."

"I was thinking that if one of them is a boy, I'd name him after his father."

"Oh, really? What's the name?"

"Elliot."

Elliot looked over at Olivia. "What?"

"Remember that stakeout 15 weeks ago? You know, July 23rd?

"They're my kids?" Elliot looked down at the black and white photo and looked at the tiny bodies.

"Yeah. Congratulations, you're gonna have two more kids." She made an effort at a smile as Elliot stared dumbfounded at the picture, before looking at his partner and putting an arm over her shoulder and pulling her to rest on his right shoulder.

"I'm having two more kids."

"You're having two more kids."

Elliot kissed the top of her head and stroked her shoulder gently. "They won't end up like Jacob. I'll make sure of it."

"What about me?"

"I'll make sure nothing happens to you. We can figure this out." He moved his hand and gently placed it on her abdomen.

"Thank you, Elliot. Thanks."


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright, so I really need you guys to take the poll for this story, it's in my profile. You guys should take it because then you have a say in the genders of the ****twins. Yeah, it's getting revealed next chapter. And, don't forget to review this chapter, I think it's the most violent one yet, and ties Olivia to the case even more. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

><p><strong>Special Victims Unit<strong>

**November 11, 10:07 p.m**

"Jacob got put into foster care for the night. We're still trying to find out the last name. Whoever the killer was, he wanted us to keep looking. There wasn't any mail in the apartment, her computer was find, couldn't find a phone… Nothing. It's like she doesn't exist." Elliot spun the pen in his hand and wrote something down underneath the warm lamplight.

"Is there anything we could've missed?" Olivia looked up across the desk at her partner. "I mean, we put out a missing person's photo that we touched up, we made the announcement about the boy… What are we missing? There's gotta be something."

"Wait, maybe we did miss something. Why has the killer gone to so much trouble to cover up her name? Maybe he's closer to her- was closer to her- than he wanted us to know."

"That makes sense. Like maybe a close friend, or-"

"A doctor. And that could connect him to the other women."

"Let's just hope that Ryan has all the results of the blood work in the morning. Do you want me to rive you home?" Elliot put a stack of paperwork in his bottom drawer.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks, Elliot." She put her jacket on and zipped it up. Everyone else had left the office. She turned the lights off and waited for Elliot at the elevator.

"Let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>Residence of Olivia Benson<strong>

**November 11, 10:20 p.m**

"So, is the case… okay, for you? I know it must be hitting close to home."

"I don't know. I think I'm fine, I mean, it's harder because I can really relate to the victims."

Elliot looked over at her and then pulled out a beer from her fridge. "So your beers have just been hanging out by themselves all alone because you're pregnant. Poor guys." He smiled and uncapped the drink. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Just chamomile tea. My stomach's felt fluttery almost all day."

"Usually your morning sickness would've gone away by now. Kathy's went away with the twins around the end of the second month." Elliot took a mug of water and put it in her microwave and set it to one minute. The drone filled the kitchen area. He leaned against the counter and faced her, quickly taking a swig of his beer before talking again. "So… what are we going to do?"

Olivia was quiet for a few seconds, and then looked up from her shoes at her partner. "I'd like to stay as your partner. I don't want to be the other woman with Kathy, even if your divorce is still going on. The moment that IAB finds out, if they do, that you're the father, we'll be split up, and it'll cause problems with the job and your family. I can't lose you and this job."

The microwave pinged, and Elliot pulled the hot mug out of the microwave, and then ripped the teabag out of the package and dipped it in the hot water a few times. He handed it to his partner. "Okay. So, what would the story be? IVF? A one night stand?"

"I can say that it was IVF. They wouldn't ask as many questions. Cragen's the only other one who knows. He doesn't know it's you." Her voice was soft, and she sipped some of the hot tea.

"How long have you known that you were pregnant? That it was mine?"

"Considering I haven't had intercourse with anyone else in the past few months, I've known it was you since I've known I've been expecting. I found out at around 11 weeks."

He was silent for a few seconds, gazing at her stomach. He looked up at her. "I'll be there for you, and these babies. I promise." He reached out to hold her hand and gave her a smile. "It's late, so I should go home. We should get some sleep for tomorrow. We'll definitely be working late again." Elliot gave her hand a squeeze and threw the empty beer in the recycling.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then. Stay safe." Olivia took another sip of tea and then watched him slip out the door. She dropped the mug on the counter and sighed, and turned off the lights before walking into her bedroom and curling up underneath her down comforter.

* * *

><p><strong>Special Victims Unit<strong>

**November 12, 8:30 a.m**

"We found her. Call off the phone searches." Munch looked up form the computer and waved his partner and Elliot over. "Her name's Hannah Albright. She worked at a health clinic. She doesn't have any close family; her mother and father died in a car crash in '05, and her sister lives in Seattle. The sister's only 23, fresh out of college."

"Good thing we found her. Maybe it'll help Jacob having a relative take care of him, at least until everything is sorted out." Elliot looked over at his partner who strolled over to the table.

"So do we call her?" Olivia looked over Munch's shoulder at the screen.

"Well, we don't even know if Jacob knows her. He's not even 5 yet, so it's possible that they never met. Sister was only in her first year of college when he was born." Munch looked back over at them.

"Guess we have to do what we have to so we can tie up the loose ends." Fin said.

* * *

><p><strong>Special Victims Unit<strong>

**November 14, 6:25 p.m**

"Is Jacob okay? I got here on a flight as soon as I could." The woman had light brown hair that fell over her face, and she looked as if she hadn't slept in two days.

"He's fine, he's at a foster home right now. We'd like to ask you some questions and inform you a bit more on why you're here."

"Did- did something happen? Oh god, something happened to my sister, didn't it?

"Look, April, I'm sorry- your sister was the victim of a murder." The women's face froze and she started breathing in fast gasps while trying to talk.

"But, she was fine. We just talked t-t-two days ago. Jacob was going to have his p-party. She was gonna name the baby after me." April faced Olivia. "Did the baby make it?"

Olivia shook her head softly. "No, I'm sorry."

"Oh my god. What am I gonna do, she was the only family I had… We took care of each other." She was shuddering and shaking her head.

"Listen April, I know this is hard, but can you tell me if your sister mentioned anyone who could've been dangerous? Anyone she felt threatened by?"

"Well, she'd recently started dating this doctor. He works at the Woman's Health Clinic on 59th and Madison." Olivia's eyes widened slightly and the woman sniffled and wiped her face a little, and grabbed some air.

"Go on, it's okay."

"She doesn't date often, but she said that this guy was different. His name's Kent Oliver. She said he'd started getting more aggressive around her in the past week and she was going to end it soon because he thought he was going to hurt her or Jacob." April burst into sobs again.

"April, you did a great job, we're going to go get this man, okay?"

April nodded and looked back at Olivia. "Will I get to see Jacob soon? I'd rather he hear about his mom's death from me."

"We can get him out of the system by tomorrow morning." Olivia flipped her head back to her captain who was calling in teams to go to the clinic, and they all ran off to their cars to drive down to the clinic.

* * *

><p><strong>Women's Health Clinic<strong>

**November 14, 6:40 p.m**

The sirens wailed in the air all around the clinic, and the building had been surrounded. Elliot pulled their car up to the curb a few dozen meters from the entrance and behind one of the SWAT vans.  
>"What's with all the excessive force?" Elliot asked one of the police after he jumped out of the car.<p>

"He's keeping hostages. He sent out the receptionist with her throat cut. She was barely keeping in all the blood from her neck."

Elliot frowned in distaste as he got a bulletproof vest on and loaded up his gun with rounds from the trunk. Olivia went to reach for her normal size, and then realized it was too small, and reached out for a larger one. "Liv, be careful, okay?"

"Elliot, I'll be fine. This is my job." She muttered quietly to him so only they could her. She turned her head to the man Elliot had been talking to before. "Is the negotiator here?"

"No, he's out in rush hour traffic. It doesn't help that we had to put up roadblocks either. We may have to go in without him."

Cragen approached the leader of the SWAT team with his radio equipped and his own vest and gun ready at his side. "I need to send my detectives in there. We can take him down before he hurts anyone else."

"Absolutely not. We can't risk any lives right now. If we send people in without the negotiator, people on both sides could die."

"Look, my team- they're some of the best. They can take this guy down, trust me. We can keep the deaths at a minimum if you let them in."

The guy stood and pondered it for a few seconds. "They have ten minutes before I'm taking them out. It's dangerous in there for your detectives, but if you really think they can prevent any deaths, then let them go in." Cragen went to tell his detectives, but the man shouted one more thing after him. "He's got a gun, they need to keep on the lookout."

Elliot and his partner carefully walked up to the sliding doors, and they opened slowly and carefully. The entire building was dark. They walked in with their guns drawn and their flashlights ahead. The entire lobby had been cleared out. Elliot heard a noise and turned towards the sound and raised his gun to shoulder level. He motioned for Olivia to follow, and they walked down the narrow hallway.

Olivia stepped carefully and something made a loud snapping noise underneath her foot. She carefully picked up her shoe and shone her flashlight to see it was a bloody piece of glass. She looked up at her partner and nodded for them to keep going. The hallway split into two rooms, an OR and an examining room. Olivia listened carefully for any noise and waited. She perked up when she hear a muffled shout and, she and Elliot burst through the doors of the OR.

"Don't move, Kent."

"Olivia, what a surprise." He held his gun pointing at her, knowing that she wouldn't shoot him and that her partner wouldn't do anything if he thought it would harm Olivia. "Care to join the fun?" His voice was slick, and he pointed to the four other women who had been tied up in some way or another in the room. The only pregnant woman other than Olivia was strapped on the operating table and looking around frantically. The three tied up seemed to be other doctors and nurses.

"You're a sick bastard, Kent."

"Oh, harsh." He walked around the table, his gun still aimed at her. He waved around his scalpel and then stopped. "Did you find my Hannah?" He shook his head and closed his eyes for a second. "She was a beauty. I had the most fun with her. But she was such a mess to clean up after. I had too many ties to her, I guess." He placed the cold scalpel on the pregnant woman's stomach, and gently pressed it into her skin, barely enough to give her a cut, but giving her one, nonetheless. The woman tried to make a noise through the cloth shoved in her mouth, but it came out strangled and muffled.

"Drop the scalpel and the gun, and you can walk out here alive."  
>"And go to prison? Or maybe I'd get the electric chair, but that seems unlikely. You know, it'll be sad leaving all the trophies of mine behind." He dug a little deeper into the woman's skin, and she cried put again, this time stronger. She was heavily pregnant, and all the stress could put her in labor.<p>

Olivia took a tentative step forward and aimed at him, but Kent quickly looked up and squeezed the trigger a little, not enough to send a bullet into motion, but enough to make Olivia back off. Kent chuckled, and gave the detectives a grin. "Olivia, would you care to join in my game? You fit my profile perfectly. You have wonderful skin, the beautiful brown hair, and you have not one but two buns in the oven, you'd make a great specim-"

Elliot moved forward to stop him, but Kent pulled the trigger, and Elliot fell to the ground making sputtering noise. In the few moments before he hit the ground, Olivia moved and shot Kent in the upper body, but she couldn't see where. She heard both of the bodies flop to the floor. She looked at the woman on the table, who was still wildly looking around. Olivia pulled her radio to her mouth. "I need medics in here now, my partner's down and so is the perp, the hostages are all alive, one pregnant woman whose baby could be in distress."

She stood for a couple of seconds in shock before she knelt down next to her partner and gently picked up his head in her hands. There wasn't any blood on the floor, and he groaned when she picked up his head. "Elliot? Elliot, where'd he bullet hit?"

"Ribs, I'll be fine. Is Kent dead?" Elliot said everything quietly so as to not upset his ribcage. Olivia gently put his head back on the floor and walked over to Kent and checked for his pulse. Blood was rapidly pooling around his limp figure and her shoes and jeans were coated in the thick red substance. Some of it got on her hands as she pulled her arms away. She'd shot him right in his jugular, and he'd bled out.

"He's gone." Olivia got up, caked in blood, and walked over to the table where the woman was still strapped up. She carefully undid the restraints just as the paramedics rushed in and the SWAT team and Cragen made their way inside. She got the last buckle off of the woman's legs, and stepped back as Elliot, the woman, and the three doctors were loaded up onto gurneys and taken away to Mercy General.

Cragen walked over to Olivia. "This was a clean kill, Olivia. You saved that woman and her unborn child. You should probably let them take you to the hospital to make sure everything is alright, and that your own are okay." He gestured to her stomach.

Olivia nodded, dazed and still looking at Kent's body. "Yeah, I should." Paramedics led her out and she walked over and into an ambulance with them fluttering over her and making sure everything about her was stable before driving her off to the hospital.


	8. Chapter 8

**New chapter! Poll results finished, and here's where they stand. Have fun with the newest chapter. ;)**

* * *

><p><strong>Mercy General Hospital<strong>

**November 14, 8:40 p.m**

Olivia sat on the blue foam bed, uncomfortable. She looked around the room at all of the equipment and frowned. She sighed and looked over to the door as she heard the insides turn. Elliot poked his head in. "Elliot, you shouldn't be out of bed!"

He smiled and his eyes seemed to dance in the dark lighting. "It's just a few bruised ribs, I'm not gonna die." He winced as he slipped through the doorway and closed the door behind him. "Have the doctors come here yet?"

She hesitated and looked out the window. "Not yet." She looked back at him. "I'm scared. What if something's wrong with them? What if I hurt them or something by sleeping the wrong way or something?" Elliot sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her waist and let her lean into him. "I just don't want anything to go wrong."

"Liv, they'll be fine. You're fine. Don't stress about it so much, you'll only make it worse." Even in the darkness of the room, his piercing blue eyes were intoxicating, and Olivia gazed into them. Her breath grew slightly shallow, and then she broke off the gaze.

"You can't promise anything though, can you?" She looked down at her feet, which were dangling off the exam bed, and Elliot moved his arm and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"No, I can't." His voice was soft as Olivia leaned into him and Elliot rested his head on hers. Olivia felt her stomach flutter and tighten, and her heart beat a little faster. She took in his smell past the hospital smell, and listened to his slightly harsh breathing, and his beating heart.

She shifted slightly, and peeled her shoes off, and tucked her legs onto the bed. "Did you call Kathy and the kids?"

"No. It's late and I don't want them to worry about some minor injury. Kathy probably doesn't want to see me anyways."

"Don't say that, she's your wife and those are your kids. They'd want to know. Plus, would you rather them hear from the captain? I bet he'll tell if you won't."

"He won't tell. And she's not my wife, not anymore. We're separated. She handed me the divorce papers. I haven't signed them yet."

"Oh my gosh, Elliot, I'm so sorry." She sat up and looked him in the eyes again. "This must be hard for you."

"Yeah, well, when love warps to hate, there's nothing you won't do. I don't want that to happen between me and Kathy. It would hurt the kids; I can't do that to them."

The door opened as an OB walked in and shut the door behind her. She carried a thin file in her hand and she flipped open to a page and laid it out on the desk before turning to the two. "You're Olivia, correct?"

"Yeah, Olivia Benson. I came here after there was a shooting, this is part of the… general checkup, I guess you could say."

"Well, I can also give you the standard tests that you'd get around the 16 week mark if you'd like. I believe you were scheduled for one soon?"

She shuddered and thought back to Kent with the gun, and the woman lying on the table. "Yeah, I was."

"Alright." The woman's short red hair moved wit her body, and she closed the file and then looked to Elliot. "Are you the husband?"

"No, he's my partner, Detective Stabler. He's, uh, my next of kin on the list." Olivia cut off Elliot before he could speak and shot him a look that told him to stay quiet about anything because it could get parroted back to the precinct, which could cause a huge problem in the system, and cost them their shields. Elliot held her gaze for a few seconds before they both looked back to the doctor.

"Okay. Well, I'm going to conduct the exam now so if you want your partner to stay, he can. Can you lie down on the bed for me?"

Olivia got on her back and then rolled slightly to her right side to prevent pressure on her artery for her stomach. Elliot reached over to hold her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

The woman gave a gentle smile and then pulled out the ultrasound gel and booted up the machine. "The gel's going to be cold, but you know that already. Brace yourself." She squeezed the gel out of the small bottle, and Olivia took a small gasp. "Sorry." She grabbed the tiny device and pressed it into the gel and spread it around some. The machine picked up the two silhouettes, and they gradually became clearer.

The woman smiled. "Good news, your babies are okay. You didn't hurt them in that excursion." She looked closer to make sure nothing was out of the order, and peered at them a little more. "As you're at sixteen weeks, you can find out the genders of them. We also need to give you another blood test, urine test, and I believe it would be a good idea to get an amniocentesis for each twin."

Olivia raised an eyebrow, not knowing the term.

"It's a test for their amniotic fluid. It tests the babies' cells to make sure there are no abnormalities. Because you're a high risk pregnancy, it is highly recommended that you take this test."

Olivia looked over at her partner quickly, and then back to the doctor. "Okay, anything to make sure that they're okay and healthy."

"I'm going to bring a nurse in to help with the procedure." She pressed a button on her pager. "In the meantime, I can explain the process to you. We'll take a needle, and I'll give you a local anesthetic. After a few minutes, I'll take another couple of needles to take a sample of cells from each baby- their amniotic fluid. We'll examine this, and after a couple of days we can probably get back to you. It's recommended that after we do this you don't participate in any strenuous activities for 24 hours. You're also probably going to be sore for at least a few hours, especially after the anesthesia wears off." Another woman walked in with a set of needles.

"Are you ready to begin?"

"Now or never." Her voice was soft and she forced a smile, and braced herself for the first needle, which was the anesthetic. She winced slightly, but soon her skin was numb.

"Now, this'll wear off in about an hour or so. We're going to continue with the procedure, and just like I explained, we'll take a little bit of the amniotic fluid. She'll take the fluid, and I'll keep the ultrasound going so it's accurate."

Olivia looked at the screen as she watched the needle go into the first area surrounding one of the twins. They pulled the needle back out and put the sample in a little cup, much like the cups for urine or blood tests, like the ones she'd have to take later.

Elliot looked over at her and then he looked back to the screen as they put in the second needle. Olivia took in a small breath as she watched them take out the amount of fluid they needed surrounding the second twin. "So that's it?"

"That's it for this procedure. We still have the blood and urine tests but that's it otherwise."

"Okay, thank you, for everything. This is more than I had expected to get, but it was worth the wait." Olivia propped up her body on her right arm.

"And before I leave to get the other tests, would you like to know the genders of the twins?"

Elliot looked at her and their eyes had a conversation. Elliot raised an eyebrow and Olivia cocked her head slightly to the side. Elliot gave a small nod and then Olivia turned back to the technician. "Yes, I would."

The woman turned back to the screen and maneuvered the device around Olivia's abdomen, and looked more at the screen. "Congratulations, Ms. Benson. You're going to be a mother to two little boys." She wiped the gel off and dimmed the lights again, throwing out the paper towel on the way out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey! Sorry I've been offline for a little while. I've been really busy(no excuse) but I had to take a break to start writing a screenplay for my friend for our town film festival, and then I watched Interstellar and started writing a couple chapters for that. Anyways, here is chapter 9! We've gotten far, so let's see how our favorite detectives are taking everything. As always, please review.**

* * *

><p><strong>Mercy General Hospital<strong>

**November 14, 11:27 p.m**

Olivia sat up and her eyes readjusted to the light as she walked back in She looked over to Elliot, and then looked back down at her stomach and placed her hand on her bump, warming the skin.

"Two little boys- double trouble." Elliot smiled and got back on the hideous blue foam bed that Olivia was sitting on. Olivia's eyes looked away, and she looked dazed. "Liv… you okay?"

"I don't know. How do you bring a child into the world that we live in? The world that you and I see very single day?" She sighed and shook her head. "Let alone, twins. Elliot, I don't know if I can do this."

"Olivia, you're going to be a great mom, don't doubt yourself. Your kids will be fine." He paused. "Is this about Kent?"

She was quiet for about a minute. "Yeah." Her voice was soft and was only audible because the only noises in the room were their breathing, and the very soft noises of the phones from the reception outside. Her thoughts intruded her mind and she kept thinking about the cries of the woman on the table, and Elliot falling to the ground with a thud, and the sickening crackle of the bullet entering Kent's body.

"He was my doctor, you know? I trusted him, and he had all my information." She turned to him. "Elliot, it could've been me next. I looked like the victims. I fit his profile. El, I could've died." She shook her head and reached up to wipe her eye. She let out the air from her lungs and stared at her feet.

Elliot looked at her and then looked back. "I can stay at your place tonight if it'll make you feel safer." She looked up at him and he gave her a warm smile.

"Thanks, Elliot."

"Anything to make you feel safe, Liv."

* * *

><p><strong>Residence of Olivia Benson<strong>

**November 15, 12:05 a.m**

The heating in the apartment flickered to life, and warm air started to circulate throughout the rooms. Olivia opened the door and turned on the lights. Elliot walked in behind her and took off his coat and hung it where Olivia had put hers. "You changed up the place since I was last here. New furniture?" He looked around, taking everything in.

"Yeah. A new TV, couch, and a rug. Nothing major, really." She shrugged and walked into the kitchen and Elliot heard the microwave turn on. The smell of pizza got slightly stronger as he walked towards the kitchen.

"Hungry?"

"Yeah, just a little." She rested her hand on the small curve in her figure. She was sore, just like the doctor had said. "Elliot, I think this is the last month that I can really hide the pregnancy. I'm going to have to tell the others soon." The microwave let out a small ping, and Olivia carefully pulled out the hot plate with the two slices of pizza on it.

"That's fine. We came up with the plan, and no one will have to know about us, about what happened." He felt sketchy saying it, but he knew they were both thinking it.

Olivia folded up the pizza and had a few bites before talking again. "Kathy doesn't know either, does she?"

Elliot shook his head and looked away. "Kathy doesn't even know I was in the hospital, and I don't know if I want her to know. The kids don't know either.

Olivia nodded and stepped out of the kitchen, walking into the living room. "What blankets do you want? You know, for the couch?"

He walked out, following her and shrugged. "I'll just take a couple of the thicker ones, I guess." He walked over to the couch and ran his hand along the soft beige cloth. "So… Have you thought of any names?" He looked up at her and his blue eyes fell into her like a train.

She sat down on the couch next to him. "I still really like the name Elliot. It fits nicely, Elliot Benson." She paused and looked at him for a reaction. "I haven't really given thoughts to names yet, you know? I'm just barely out of the woods." She gave him a tight, forced smile.

"Yeah, it's okay, don't feel pressured. Almost every kid that Kathy and I had we named right in the hospital." Elliot moved in a little closer to her, and Olivia felt his breath warm against her neck. She felt a shiver go down her spine, and she turned to face him so that they were nose to nose. Their lips met briefly, and then Olivia pulled back.

"Elliot…"

"Yeah, sorry. My bad. I'll just get the blankets from the closet. Goodnight, Liv." Elliot got up off the couch and over to the closet by the bathroom, and he pulled out the spare pillow and blankets. Olivia walked down the hallway and her arm brushed against his as she walked to her bedroom. She turned off the hallway lights once he'd put the blankets down on the couch, and then she snuggled up in her own bed, trying to bring peaceful dreams to her mind.

* * *

><p>Olivia woke up and thrashed around in her covers for a second before remembering where she was. She looked over at her alarm clock on the nightstand. It was only 2:33. She sighed, and wrapped one of the softer blankets around her before walking into the living room. Elliot was sitting on the ledge, looking out her window at the cars passing by.<p>

Elliot heard her light footsteps creeping towards him. "Couldn't sleep?" His eyes had dark shadows underneath them, and his face looked weary.

"Apparently, neither could you."

"I just keep thinking about the kids, what they're doing. I get to be with them all of next weekend, but it just doesn't feel like enough."

Olivia looked away from him and out the window, and down at the street below. Even while many of the people slept, New York was still very much alive. "That's why you can't sleep?"

He shrugged. "It's the main reason. What about you?"

She sighed, and then sat on the ledge with him. "I keep thinking about the shooting. I keep thinking that maybe I could've noticed something and saved Jacob's mother or that maybe I could've been able to take him down without killing him. I don't know, I just wish it would all go away. Especially when he shot you; I thought he'd really hurt you, that he'd gotten through the vest somehow."

"In the completely literal sense of the word, do you want to sleep together? IT might put your nightmares at ease. I can be there right away if you wake up, and, well, I can be there for you." Elliot looked into her eyes with those blue eyes of his and Olivia nodded.

"Okay. Maybe it will help." She walked back to her room and crawled into the bed with Elliot in tow. Elliot tucked himself underneath the covers after her, and got on his side to face her.

"Right here if you need anything."

She nodded. "Thanks, El." They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, before Olivia flipped onto her left side and drifted off. Elliot followed quickly behind, and the room filled with their soft and rhythmic breathing.

Olivia's eyes flickered open to the gentle light of the morning and turned her head to the alarm clock. It was 10:15. For a second she was confused as to why she was still home instead of at the precinct, and then it all flooded back to her. She started to move, but she felt a band of warmth around her waist, and she looked behind her to see that Elliot had pulled her in close to keep the two of them warm. She carefully unwrapped herself from his arms, and slipped her legs over the side of the bed and got up. She shuddered, noticing the heat wasn't working again.

She went over to the thermostat and shook her head. Their boiler was broken yet again. She wished the landlord would just fix the heat, because as the days got shorter and colder, she didn't know how she could put up with it. She sighed and opened the fridge, and then let out another sigh. She crawled back into bed until she was facing Elliot again.

"El?" Her voice was soft, and a little scratchy. "Elliot?"

Elliot grumbled and groaned gently, and he shifted slightly in the bed.

"Elliot, there's no food in the fridge. Can we go out and get groceries?"

He opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times because of the soft white light leaking into the room. "There's nothing left?"

She shook her head. "There are just some old leftovers, nothing really." She smiled at him. "Grocery run?"

He flipped onto his back and started to get up. "Grocery run."

* * *

><p>"So, what's with the sudden cravings of strawberry ice cream?" Elliot put the two tubs in the freezer, and then put some orange juice in the fridge.<p>

"Beats me. You're the one with experience in this category. Care to shed some light on my case?"

"Kathy liked potato chips, pretzels, you know, salty things. Sweet things- that's a different category." Elliot gave her one of his rare smiles, and her heart fluttered for a second. She looked away and put a couple of items in a cupboard.

"Want to make breakfast or do you want to go out and get some?"

"Well, we didn't buy all this food for nothing, did we? Let me make you something. What do you want?" He put the last item in the fridge and closed the door.

She thought for a few seconds. "Pancakes and some of that strawberry ice cream as dessert." Elliot nodded at her request and got some butter out of the newly stocked fridge, and then proceeded to prepare all of the ingredients to cook for his partner. "Cragen made us both take leave for a minimum of a week. I hope you didn't have anything too important that you were working on alone."

"Liv, the only important thing I'm working on is caring for you and those babies." Compassion flashed in his bright blue eyes, and Olivia felt herself fall into them like a rabbit down a hole. Unfortunately, this was one thing that, unlike a rabbit, she couldn't squeeze herself out of, and the sooner she accepted it, the better everyone would be.


End file.
